Montana Sets New Records for Employment, Labor Force in December

Labor force grew by more than 1,200 workers

• January 23 2024

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced Montana set new records for total employment and labor force in December, according to data compiled by Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

“More Montanans are working than ever before thanks to the hard work of job creators and our pro-jobs, pro-business policies,” Gov. Gianforte said. “A growing labor force is positive for Montana, and we’ll continue to develop workforce talent pipelines to meet the needs of industry and our growing economy.”

In the last month of the year, Montana’s labor force grew by more than 1,200 workers. Under Gov. Gianforte’s leadership, total employment is at an all-time high at 563,000 in December.

Since Gov. Gianforte took office in January 2021, 41,000 jobs have been created in Montana.

Montana’s unemployment rate of 3.2% remains below the national unemployment rate of 3.7% in December.

In December, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.3% over-the-month. The index for shelter continued to rise in December, contributing over half of the monthly all items increase. The 12-month change in the all-items index was 3.4%. The index for all items minus food and energy, also called core inflation, increased by 0.3% for the month. For the year ending in December, core inflation was 3.9%.

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** Unemployment figures are seasonally-adjusted. Seasonally-adjusted numbers remove the effects of events that follow a more or less regular month-to-month pattern each year. These adjustments make non-seasonal patterns easier to identify. The margin of error for the unemployment rate is plus or minus 0.5 percentage points at the 90 percent confidence level. All questions relating to the calculation of unemployment rates should be directed to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry’s Data and Operations Bureau at 406-444-4100.

Due to annual revisions and updating to the labor market estimates, the January 2024 Employment Situation Report will not be released until Monday, March 11th.

**** INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET ****

Visit our website at www.lmi.mt.gov for additional information and analysis, including industry employment levels, background on the unemployment rate, and wage rates by occupation. Visit www.lmi.mt.gov/home/job-tracking for Montana unemployment claims and current economic data.

****** COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s 56 counties is provided below for your convenience.  County unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.8%. 

****** RESERVATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s seven reservations is provided below.  Reservation unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.8%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.